<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>I Am Damaged, But Not Quite Beyond Repair by vextic_lesbian</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23256469">I Am Damaged, But Not Quite Beyond Repair</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/vextic_lesbian/pseuds/vextic_lesbian'>vextic_lesbian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I am Damaged [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Daemons, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Big Brother Sans (Undertale), Bilingual Character(s), Child Abuse, Dad Grillby, Depressed Sans (Undertale), Evil W. D. Gaster, Familiars, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insomnia, Multi, My First AO3 Post, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sans (Undertale) Has Issues, Sans (Undertale) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Younger Brother Papyrus (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:42:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,793</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23256469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/vextic_lesbian/pseuds/vextic_lesbian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans, Papyrus, and his Daemon, Aquilina, are alone. Living in the depths of Snowdin forest isn't the safest thing; something bad is bound to happen. But where will they go when something goes wrong?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I am Damaged [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Calm Before the Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Heya. So quick important things for this universe!<br/>-Boss monster and monsters with abnormally high magic levels have daemons<br/>-Every monster has a familiar or daemon<br/>-A monster is born with a daemon but summons a familiar around between the ages of 2-5<br/>-Both familiars and daemons are usually the same sex as the monster they're bonded to, but if it's the opposite sex it (typically) symbolizes intelligence<br/>-Daemons are more aware and separate so they can't be unsummoned (is that a word?) but familiars can be unsummoned<br/>so basically, daemons are more powerful and intelligent, but familiars are still smart!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The world around him was warm compared to the chill of the metal below his hand. His daemon Aquilina, who was currently in the form of a peregrine falcon, was looking for food behind the local bar for him and his brother. He shivered in the cold of the night, holding his baby brother closer to his chest. Aquilina lifted her head with two bags of food, signifying that it was time to leave and hide. With his brother wrapped in his arms and his daemon sitting on his shoulder, he prepared to leave the small town and head for the forest. </p><p>     Before he could, though, he heard the click of a door opening. He tried to hide but wasn’t quick enough. Aquilina dropped the bags of food by Sans feet, shifted to her snow leopard form, then growled in the direction of the figure, who had a bird on their shoulder. The figure, who looked to be a fire elemental, set down a plate of food and lifted his hands in a form of surrender.</p><p>     “I don’t want to hurt you,” he(?) said, voice a calm and quiet whisper, “Whether or not you choose to accept it is up to you.” He frowned slightly when the skeleton child backed away with his daemon then turned away and ran into the forest.</p><p>     Sans focused on the sound of snow crunching below his feet and the path ahead of him. He shivered; the cold breeze was too strong for his thin t-shirt to protect him. At least Papyrus was warm in his red swaddle made of an old scarf and blankets. It got progressively colder and soon, snow started to fall, causing his shivering to increase in intensity. He had to hurry back to their safe haven, a small cave just outside of Snowdin. He saw the small cave in the distance and picked up his pace. </p><p>     Aquilina shifted to her mystic form, a dragon with indigo scales, as she ran beside him. She lifted her wing to cover them as they made their way to the cave. As soon as Sans and Papyrus were in cover, he sat down next to his daemon then began the long process of feeding Papyrus. Once Papyrus wouldn't accept any more food, he offered it to Aquilina. She begrudgingly accepted it, knowing Sans wouldn't eat until she did; he ate the rest of the food once she refused to eat anymore, which was composed of just a few fries. He pressed Papyrus in between him and Aquilina in order to give his brother warmth. </p><p>     "Little one, come here, let me keep you warm. I can keep both of you equally warm," Aquilina stated, rather worried at his behavior. </p><p>     "i'll be fine, as long as pap's safe im okay," he responded, "let’s just sleep, okay?" </p><p>     "...Okay, Little one," Aquilina raised her wing for him to curl up against. She wrapped around the brothers and slept. </p><p>~ </p><p>     Aquilina woke to the sound of soft sobbing. She shifted her wing just enough to look under, only to see Papyrus crying, which was odd, since Sans usually calmed him down before she could wake up. She shifted to her snow leopard form to move easier. Papyrus was stuck in his bundle crying, while Sans was sleeping, his breathing ragged and labored. She moved Papyrus enough so he could play with her fur while she checked on Sans. He radiated a sickly heat. She nudged him, trying to wake him but he stayed unconscious. She looked outside to see it was no longer snowing, but it still dark. She tried to wake him once more and began to worry as he still lay unconscious. </p><p>      She picked both the brothers up (Sans on her back and Papyrus in her jaws) and headed to the local bar they had recently scavenged to find help. She heard a wet cough from her back and picked up her pace. As Aquilina came upon the small bar and set the brothers just outside the bar, in case there was danger. She walked up to the front of the bar and noticed a sign on the front. "C-L-O-S-E-D". Well it didn't matter now, Sans needed help.</p><p>     Aquilina, still in her snow leopard form, started to scratch at the door, hoping to get the bartender’s attention. She heard a voice from inside, the sound of footsteps coming closer, and the click of a door. She removed her paws from the door and waited while the door opened. Inside the open doorway was the orange fire elemental with a golden eagle on his shoulder. He crouched down to be level with the young daemon.</p><p>     “Hello,” he began, “is there something you need?”</p><p>     “I need help. One of the skeletons you saw me with earlier is sick. He won’t wake up. Please help him,” Aquilina pleaded. The bartender looked confused for a moment before something seemed to click in his mind.</p><p>     “Don’t worry, we’ll help you,” He assured, “Where is he.”</p><p>     She paused, unsure if she should trust him, but remembered that Sans needed help. “Follow me,”<br/>
She simply said. Aquilina walked out to the spot she set the brothers. The bartender kneeled next to the small skeletons.</p><p>     “May I?” He asked. Aquilina nodded. He picked up the two skeleton children, Papyrus in his left arm, and Sans in his right. He led the way back inside, his daemon flying silently behind him, and Aquilina walking next to him on his right. Once inside he set them on a couch in a room behind his bar. </p><p>     “Stay with them,” He told his daemon, then left to get towels and a cold bucket of water.</p><p>     The eagle looked at the younger daemon. She sat next to the young monsters; her head rested on the ill one’s lap. He decided to speak.</p><p>     “What is your name?” he asked, “Mine is Ace, the elemental’s is Grillby, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”</p><p>     “Aquilina, the older one is Sans and the younger is Papyrus, the pleasures all mine,” she responded, although rather absentmindedly. She continued to gaze off at seemingly nothing.</p><p>     “Is there anything you need me to know?” Ace asked. She paused before looking him straight in the eye.</p><p>     “Don’t give him any medicine that’s red,” she stated, sounding serious.</p><p>     “Okay, may I ask why?” he mentally told it to Grillby, who was making his way to them.</p><p>     “You can, but I won’t answer,” She responded, “You may be helping us, but that doesn’t mean I trust ya.”</p><p>     “Okay, that makes sense,” Ace understood. From the look of the ill monster, they were young, so why would she feel the need to be so guarded? Either they were older than they appeared, or they haven’t had the easiest life. Ace told this to Grillby; Grillby thought it was most likely the latter, unfortunately.</p><p>     Grillby entered the room with some towels and a bucket of cold water. He looked to Ace and nodded. The eagle daemon flew to take the bucket from Grillby. He set it next to the small, sickly skeleton. Grillby gave a small towel to Ace, who dropped it into the water, then picked it out with his talons and rung it out. He laid it on the skeletons skull to bring his fever down. He reached to check if Papyrus was okay when he heard a growl. Aquilina snarled at him until he withdrew his hand.</p><p>     “I am just going to check him for injuries,” he explained, careful not to seem threatening. She stopped growling to look at him.</p><p>     “Fine, just be careful,” Aquilina conceded. Grillby picked up Papyrus, who was now awake. The little skeleton was bundled in a red scarf. Grillby freed the baby from his warm, cozy prison of blankets. Papyrus reached for the fire elemental’s face. Grillby smiled at the child and check him for injuries. He didn’t have any noticeable injuries, but the mark on his arm horrified Grillby. A bar code in black was engraved on his ulna, along with “002-P W.D.G”. It looked as if it could be healed, but it still looked incredibly painful. His thoughts came to a sudden stop when Sans opened his eyes looked to Grillby. His breath quickened in frightened panic</p><p>     Sans’ reaction worried him. Aquilina was comforting Sans, who was trying to not hyperventilating. Sans tried to talk, only to have a coughing fit. The coughs shook his entire form, making his bones rattle. He was left gasping for breath once his coughing fit ended. His daemon began to talk again but was cut off by Sans.</p><p>     “where are we?” he questioned his daemon, his voice was rough and weak.</p><p>     “You’re in my home and bar,” Grillby supplied, “Your daemon brought you here because you wouldn’t wake up and are sick. I won’t hurt you, and I won’t force you to stay here or leave. I do, however, suggest you at least stay the night, given your health at the moment.”</p><p>     “lets leav-,” he was cut off by his daemon.</p><p>     “No, you can hardly stand, let alone walk 2 feet,” Aquilina began, “So what makes you think you have the strength to travel long distances without further harming yourself or worse?” Sans looked away guiltily. “That’s what I thought,” Aquilina finished.</p><p>     “Would you like some medicine?” Grillby began, “I won’t make you, but if you do accept, I’ll tell you exactly what it’s for and what it’ll do. Is that okay with you?” Sans hesitated but nodded. “I’ll also make you food, if you’ll accept it.” He brought the three into his bedroom to sleep for the night, knowing the brothers probably needed it more than he would. He would be fine on his couch anyway.</p><p>      He went to his medicine cabinet and grabbed some cough syrup and cold medicine (they’re both green because healing magic). He gave them to Ace so he could give them so Sans so he could make them some food. He decided a broth would be good for Sans, so some good ol’ chicken noodle soup was made. In about 15 minutes he had finished. He poured some of the broth into a mug for Sans and some in a bowl for Papyrus and Aquilina. He watched the interaction between the three conscious beings interact, as Papyrus was now asleep.</p><p>     Sans was observing while keeping a watchful eye on his brother, Aquilina was sitting between Ace and Sans while looking suspiciously at Ace, and Ace was sitting across from them, waiting patiently. Grillby walked in to give them some food, only for Aquilina to look up and snarl at him.</p><p>     “What is it and what’s in it?” she growled.</p><p>     “It’s soup, but just broth for you,” Grillby gestured towards Sans, “It’s just noodles, some vegetables, chicken broth, and some seasoning.” Aquilina studied him as if to see if he was lying. She sniffed the food, tasted it, looked to Sans, nodded, then hungrily finished the bowl of soup. Grillby gave Sans his mug of broth; Sans attempted to chug it before Grillby stopped him.</p><p>     “Drink it slowly,” Grillby chuckled and smiled, “I can get you more if you need.” Despite his seemingly cheerful attitude, Grillby shared his concern with Ace about Sans’ hunger and him feeling the need to eat it as if it wouldn’t last; how long had the three been out on the streets? Aquilina woke Papyrus in order to feed him. Despite not having opposable thumbs (in her snow leopard form), she did this rather successfully. Sans had finished his mug o’ broth TM and seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open; worn out from lack of sleep and illness. Grillby silently grabbed the bowls and mug from the tired children.</p><p>     “Would you like the door open or closed? Light on or off?” Grillby asked, making sure to give them choices. Sans opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a few coughs.</p><p>     “Open and off,” Aquilina replied.</p><p>     “We’ll be right outside if you need us,” Ace told them. Sans and Aquilina watched them walk out of the room. </p><p>     “hey lina?” Sans asked, voice rough with illness, “do you think we can trust them? Cuz im not s-so… so sure.” His words slowed and quieted as he continued, exhaustion slowly taking over him. Aquilina nuzzled his cheek.</p><p>    “I don’t know yet, little one, we must wait and proceed with caution. We’ll only stay here if we feel safe or need to stay,” she answered, uncertain. “For now, let’s get some rest.” She curled around Sans and Papyrus, keeping them warm and protected as they slept. In only a few moments, they all to fall asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. As Rain Hits the Pavement</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So a few things first. <br/>1.) I'm probably gonna rewrite the first chapter<br/>2.) Daemons/Familiars and monsters can do the whole mind communication. So they can converse inside they're heads.<br/>Okay people, I hope you're doing okay in this long quarantine. I'm doing okay if you're wondering. I've been procrastinating this, mostly because I've been doing the outline and stuff. Also research. I finished the rough draft about a 2 weeks ago but I did the whole procrastination thing again, edited about half of it, then stopped. I finished editing today because I got really bored from a surgery I'm recovering from. I do plan on finishing this eventually, and posts will become more frequent as I write ahead, but they'll be slow for now. Now that I've finished this word vomit that you call a chapter note, enjoy the chapter.</p><p>TW: Mentions of child abuse</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sans groaned as unconsciousness lost its hold on him. He opened his eye sockets slowly, blinking a few times to adjust to the new light. His throat was sore, and his head hurt. He groaned again and rolled over into the soft, fluffy- wait… soft? Fluffy? Where was- oh yeah. He was at the bartender’s place with Aquilina and Papyrus. Speaking of Aquilina and Papyrus, where were they? Sans blinked a few times as he pondered that thought for a moment before realizing that he didn’t know where they were! He rushed off the bed and attempted to run, but his knees gave out before he could take more than two steps. He winced in pain as he collided with the ground. </p><p> </p><p>     His mind was racing with panicked thoughts. He could have taken them. He could’ve hurt them. They could’ve hurt him. Papyrus could be hurt, even after all his work to keep him safe. They can’t- he can’t go back. He didn’t want to go back. He didn’t want to be cold and alone. He was scared.  </p><p> </p><p>     Sans was shaking with his sobs. He unconsciously dug his fingers into his skull as his panic continued to rise. Hands gently grabbed his wrists and removed them from his skull. Sobs continued to wrack Sans small form as his shaking increased. A head worked its way under his arms, nuzzling him. </p><p> </p><p>     “Little one?” someone said. Sans couldn’t tell who it was through the fog that clouded his mind. “Calm down,” they- no, Aquilina said. He looked up at his Daemon through tear filled eyes. She nuzzled him again, calming down. As Sans struggled to take deep breaths, he saw Grillby carefully holding his wrists. The second Sans pulled his hands away, Grillby let go. He focused on his breathing. He reached out and clung to Aquilina. He focused on the connection between their souls, using it to remind him that they were safe. </p><p> </p><p>     It probably only took a few minutes before Sans was calm, but it felt like hours. He looked up from Aquilina’s fur and saw Papyrus sitting in Grillby’s lap. Grillby handed Papyrus to Sans. Sans hugged his younger brother. Papyrus squirmed in his grasp, and accidentally smacked Sans in the face. Sans made eye contact with Aquilina in surprise before they both chuckled. Papyrus finally stopped squirming once he hugged Sans with is small chubby child arms. Aquilina curled up around the two brothers. </p><p> </p><p>     They stayed in that position for a minute before ace asked, “Would you like a bath?”. Grillby sighed. Sans looked up in confusion. “I’ve seen you out there for a while, so it might be nice to be clean.” Sans still looked confused. “Do you know what a bath is?” Sans looked down at the ground and shook his head. “Would you like to find out?” Sans looked back up then gave a hesitated nod.  </p><p> </p><p>      Grillby walked over to Sans and Papyrus to pick them up after asking if it was okay. He brought them to his rarely used bathroom. He set Sans on the sink counter then gave him Papyrus. Ace turned on the water with his talon, making sure the water wasn’t too hot. Grillby carefully got Papyrus out of the t-shirt he gave Papyrus when he woke up and set him in the bathtub. </p><p> </p><p>     Grillby reached towards Sans to help him undress, but Sans shied away from his touch while Aquilina growled at Grillby from the doorway. Sans shot her a look which quieted her. Sans slowly took of his thin, tattered jacket, revealing many scars, cuts, and a few discolored bits of bone on his arms.  On Sans right arm he had a section where it looked like his bone was dug out. The worst part was that was that it was covered in dried dust mixed with a red liquid, which looked like human blood. Grillby frowned at the sight, troubled. </p><p> </p><p>     “Would you like me to heal this?” Grillby asked, his voice gentle and calm. Sans looked up at him and nodded. Grillby lightly cupped his fiery hands around the wound. His hands began to glow green as he used healing magic. Grillby knew he wasn’t the best at healing, but he wasn’t terrible. When he lifted his hands from the wound it wasn’t completely healed but didn’t look as painful as before. Sans had his eyes glued to the counter. </p><p> </p><p>     As Sans took off the rest of his clothes, he revealed more wounds and scars. Grillby healed the ones he could with Sans permission. Grillby checked Sans fever before letting him in the bath. His fever had gone down but was still quite high. Grillby checked Aquilina for wounds as well, only finding a bite mark on the back of her neck, which he promptly healed before she got in as well. </p><p> </p><p>     Grillby was concerned, to say the least. Aquilina and Sans were both hurt badly. And judging by the bite mark on Aquilina’s neck, it was most likely caused by another monster. For now, Grillby had to gain their trust and take care of him for now. Grillby had seen Aquilina as a bird as well, a falcon of some sort he believed, which meant Sans had exceptionally high magic levels. That’s probably how they survived outside for so long. Grillby looked back at Sans and found him zoning out, staring at nothing. </p><p> </p><p>     He put on elbow length gloves so he could properly wash them. Grillby didn’t have soap, as he didn’t need it, so he just washed them as best he could with water. Sans seemed to drift towards sleep just before Grillby finished washing Papyrus. He left the kids with Ace and went to see if he had any clothing for Sans that would fit him. He found a shirt and a pair of sweatpants for Sans that would fit him loosely and found another shirt for Papyrus. </p><p> </p><p>     When he got back to the room, Ace had somehow managed to get Papyrus out and in a towel on the counter. Aquilina was also sitting on a wet towel, her fur mostly dry. Grillby carefully lifted Sans from the bath, making sure to not douse his flames in water. Ace grabbed a towel and handed it to Sans. Grillby held Sans clothes in front of him. </p><p> </p><p>     “Do you need help, or can you put them on by yourself?” Grillby asked. </p><p> </p><p>     “i got it,” Sans said, the first thing he said all day. His voice was rough and very soft. He grabbed the clothes after Grillby set him down. Once both the brothers were dressed, they walked out to the kitchen. It was only around 8am, so Grillby made them breakfast after setting them in one of his bar’s booths. Aquilina jumped beside him and rested her head on Sans lap. </p><p> </p><p>     “Is there anything in particular you want?” Grillby asked. </p><p> </p><p>     “n-no,” Sans replied shyly. He looked down and started fiddling with his shirt. </p><p> </p><p>     “How ‘bout I surprise you?” Grillby asked. Sans nodded again. Grillby smiled at the small child, glad that Sans trusted him even just a small bit. Grillby left to make them breakfast while Ace stayed on a post above the table to watch the children and young Daemon. </p><p> </p><p>     “So,” Ace started, “how do you feel, Sans?” Sans blinked at the mention of his name, then seemed to focus. </p><p> </p><p>     “m’fine, jus’ tired,” he replied. He looked at the table in front of him, refusing to make eye contact. </p><p> </p><p>     “You can go back to sleep once you eat if you like,” Ace said. Sans nodded his head in his arms. “Although, if you want, we could play a little. Of course, it’s up to you… are you okay?” Sans began blinking a few times and rubbing his forehead. Sans looked up and made eye contact with Ace. Sans had bags under his eye sockets and a look of wariness no child should ever have. </p><p> </p><p>     “i’m fine. j-just lost focus for a-a sec,” Sans replied. Sans tried to take a deep breath but started coughing as he exhaled. His coughing felt like pins were piercing his nonexistent throat and his eye sockets started to water. Aquilina nuzzled Sans’ abdomen, trying to comfort the small skeleton in his fit. Sans is left gasping for breath once he finishes coughing, resting his head in his arms. All Sans wanted to do was sleep, but he couldn’t. He felt a headache set in, a dull throb settling in his skull. A warm hand carefully rubbed his back. </p><p> </p><p>     “Sans? Can you hear me?” Grillby asked, keeping his voice down. Sans nodded, trying to focus on something other than his throbbing skull. When Sans looked at Grillby’s sincere expression, he felt all the negative emotions that were bubbling near the surface. He looked down at the table as he tried to shove them down. Aquilina very carefully grabbed Papyrus by his shirt and handed him to Grillby, who carefully held the small child. Aquilina nuzzled his abdomen again. Sans whimpered and started shaking. Aquilina looked up to Grillby for help. Grillby passed Papyrus back to the young Daemon, who was now on the floor. </p><p> </p><p>     “What’s wrong, Kiddo?” He asked, his voice soft. Sans whimpered again. “Can... can I hug you?” Sans nodded. Grillby sat down next to Sans, about to pull him into a hug before the skeleton practically launched himself towards Grillby in a hug, sobbing. The elemental was shocked for a second before returning the hug, holding Sans gently yet firmly at the same time. Protecting him. He had known these kids for less than a day and he already felt the need to protect them, no matter the cost. Sans buried his head in Grillby’s shirt, sobbing as his emotions took over, basking in the gentle heat emitted from the fire monster. </p><p> </p><p>     “i-i’m s-sorry,” Sans was afraid but didn’t want to let go of the heat and comfort being provided. </p><p> </p><p>     “There’s no need to be sorry. You’ve done nothing wrong,” Grillby continued to rub Sans’ back. </p><p> </p><p>     “i-i d-don’t want to get h-hurt a-again,” Sans said between sobs. Grillby felt a pang of sympathy in his soul and he felt Ace’s do the same. No wonder Sans was so cautious. Sans was tense and Aquilina wouldn’t take her eyes off Grillby as she sat curled around Papyrus. Grillby assumed that if she wasn’t here, Sans probably wouldn’t have accepted his invitation for a hug. </p><p> </p><p>     “You’re safe, kid. I would never hurt you. You’re gonna be okay,” Grillby soothed. Sans still felt gross and sick, and his sobbing didn’t help. Sans didn’t like this. He didn’t feel safe, but he couldn’t stop crying. He was going to get hurt after this, after all he was wasting Grillby’s time. He needed to stop or else the consequences would be worse. He tried to stop, but it just made it worse. He felt like he was underwater, his hearing was muffled, and reality felt distant. </p><p> </p><p>     Sans could feel himself hyperventilate, but it was distant, detached. He felt like he was in the back of his mind. His panic was the only thing he could focus on, and his fear. It was like his negativity was crushing him to the point it was the only important thing. His link with Aquilina felt strained and distant. He couldn’t even feel her emotions.  He felt alone, unsafe, and vulnerable. He didn’t understand what was understand what was happening. </p><p> </p><p>     Sans didn’t know how long he was gone, but he distantly felt two sensations at once: a warmth surrounding him, and a small tug on his consciousness. He latched onto the sensations despite not knowing what they were. It helped drown out his panic, keeping him grounded. A final tug on his consciousness compelled him to open his eye sockets. Everything was blurry, his tears blocking him from seeing properly. His ‘ears’ were ringing, and his hands felt numb. He was exhausted and everything felt fuzzy. </p><p> </p><p>     He felt something soft, fuzzy, and warm on his hand. It took him a moment to process what is was before he realized it was Aquilina’s snout. As he began petting Aquilina, Sans noticed he was being rocked by Grillby. He blinked a few times as he came back to reality. Sans still felt a little fuzzy, but now he was able to focus on his surroundings.  </p><p> </p><p>     “Sans?” Grillby asked. “You with me?” Sans looked up slowly at the fire elemental, blinking, before nodding slowly and humming a quiet ‘mhm”. Grillby sighed. “Good, I was getting a bit worried.” Unbeknownst to Sans, the elemental was smiling softly it him. Sans closed his eye sockets and snuggled into Grillby. He liked this. He liked being warm and feeling safe. He could worry about consequences later; this was what made him feel safe. Aquilina pulled away and curled up around Papyrus.  </p><p> </p><p>     Sans felt Aquilina’s reassurance's through their consciouses. Saying things like “You’re okay, Coms” and “I won’t let anything happen to us”. Sans opened his eye sockets once more and looked at Aquilina (still a snow leopard). She was curled up around Papyrus, who was asleep. Her head was rested on the floor, her eyes open and locked on Sans. She looked as exhausted as he felt. Sans felt the ghost of a smile on his mouth(?) before closing his eye sockets one last time and falling into a peaceful sleep. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>------- </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>     Grillby could almost pinpoint the exact moment Sans fell asleep. Sans closed his eye sockets and became limp, leaning his full weight into Grillby, relaxing. The young skeleton looked exhausted, an exhaustion that went deeper than just being tired. Given Sans’ panic attack just now, and his physical appearance, that wasn’t too farfetched. Sans, Aquilina, and Papyrus all seemed to small; probably malnourished.  </p><p> </p><p>     Grillby looked over towards Papyrus and Aquilina, only to find the latter asleep. She was curled up, sleeping. Papyrus was sitting on top of her, messing with her fur. Ace was watching them from the table, sitting by the now cold food. </p><p> </p><p>     “What now?” Ace asked him, relaying his question purely through their thoughts. </p><p> </p><p>     “I don’t know. Let’s at least put these two to bed. Then we could get Papyrus some food, at least,” Grillby responded. Ace nodded. Grillby moved carefully, making sure not to wake Sans, before carefully moving Papyrus off Aquilina. Grillby then moved Sans and Aquilina, one by one, to his room once more to sleep. </p><p> </p><p>     Grillby came back to find Papyrus ruffling Ace’s feathers. He chuckled at Ace’s ‘help me’ glance. Grillby picked Papyrus up and set him on his lap while Ace grabbed the plate of mushy carrots that Grillby made for him. Once Ace set the food in front of Grillby and Papyrus on the floor, Grillby set the toddler down so he could eat while Grillby and Ace talked. </p><p> </p><p>     “We have to do something,” Ace stated clearly. “You saw what happened. Sans had a panic attack. Aquilina was scared. She wouldn’t look away from you until he stopped crying. Sans and Aquilina probably see us as threats. They’re all too small for their ages. Papyrus is too cautious for a toddler. Stars above, they didn’t even know what a bath was!” While Ace’s voice was hushed, his frustration was clear. </p><p> </p><p>     “We do need to do something. But we need to gain their trust first. As you said, Sans and Aquilina us as threats and Papyrus is too cautious. We will help them, but they need a safe place to recover first. We’ll let them heal, maybe even ask them if they’re willing to see a healer or something but we’ll let them get comfortable unless they need help from an outside source.” Grillby Said. </p><p> </p><p>     “Alright, for now, let’s focus on getting Sans and Aquilina some food once they wake up.” Ace said. Grillby looked at Ace and nodded. Papyrus, who was shoving fistfuls of mushy carrots into his mouth... and getting them all over himself. Grillby and Ace chuckled at the sight. For now, they would go at the children's own pace, but they knew they would help these children at all costs.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed</p><p>Constructive criticism is appreciated!</p><p>Drink some water</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading, hope you enjoied my weird brain moment fic.</p><p>The name is also from heather the musical btw.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>